Review: Monsoon Multimedia Vulkano – Part 2

Back in August, we took our first look at the Monsoon Multimedia Vulkano. In that review, we promised to take a closer look at some of its other features in a later reivew. As it turned out, the Vulkano got off to a bit of a false start, because some of its more advanced features did not work as advertised.

Now, several months later, the Vulkano has received a variety of firmware and software updates, so read on to see whether it can live up to its high expectations.

But first a recap of what Vulkano does. The compact box sits at home, connected to your video source. This can be a cable box, satellite box, DVR, or anything else that delivers a component or composite video signal.

Once connected to a video source, the box is hooked up to the Internet using Wi-Fi (built in) or wired to Ethernet. The basic principle behind the box is that it can stream video anywhere in the world, to a computer or mobile device.

As we showed in our original review, this part of the Vulkano works perfectly – and the streaming video quality is outstanding.

The advanced features of the Vulkano are what set it apart. In addition to streaming video, the unit can also function as a digital video recorder and program guide. The guide can be accessed in three different ways – on your TV using the included remote, on your PC using the desktop software and on your mobile device.

The program guide, or EPG, works just like you may already be used to from your TiVo or other DVR. You can browse all your channels, pick programs you’d like to record, and schedule them. Once scheduled, the Vulkano will take care of recording from that channel – and uses its IR blaster to control your video source.

Once a program has been recorded, you can watch the recording on your TV. So far – this is all still the same as most DVR’s. Where the Vulkano gets really interesting is that you can also transfer this recording to any other Vulkano player – mobile or desktop.

In real life, this means you can be in your hotel room, tell Vulkano to record your favorite show, then in the morning, you can transfer it to your mobile device, ready to watch on your flight back home.

In reality, this is works relaitively well – albeit with a few caveats. For starters, you can not watch streaming video when the Vulkano is recording a program. You also need to be sure the unit will correctly talk to your cable box or DVR to tell it what to record. In my case, my TiVo refused to change channel (for whatever reason) and I ended up with two hours of the wrong recording. Though to be fair, this is hardly the fault of the Vulkano.

Recordings are made to an SD memory card or eSATA hard drive. The basic Vulkano version ($149.99) comes without storage, the Deluxe version comes with a 16GB memory card ($279.99) and the Deluxe Pro version is delivered with a 1TB drive, enough for 900 90 minute shows ($379.99).

On your home TV, the Vulkano also lets you watch live TV or Youtube clips, and other content sources will be added in the future.

So – does the box deliver on its promise? Absolutely. There are still minor unpolished issues, but over the past month with this current box, I have not seen any reboots or other serious issues. The lack of being able to watch streaming video while a recording is in progress is annoying, but not really a dealbreaker.

Remote video streaming quality is still excellent, and the mobile players are all free – a big difference from its main competitor where mobile players retail for $30.

I won’t pretend that the product is 100% complete – many Monsoon Multimedia products usually remain a work in progress, but the basics are all there, and they all work as they should. In other words, the product can only get better over time.

With Black Friday coming up, Monsoon is offering a $50 discount on any Vulkano product – just enter coupon code 112510 during checkout. Expires on 11/28/10.

Review and first look: Monsoon Multimedia Vulkano Deluxe Pro

To say I’ve considered the Monsoon Multimedia Vulkano to be “highly anticipated” is quite the understatement. I can’t help being a geek, and on paper, the Vulkano really does appear to be the ultimate in video streaming and placeshifting (more on those terms later).

Yesterday, the mailman dropped off a large box containing one of the first Vulkano systems to ship. So, in this first “quick look”, lets see whether this box really can live up to its hype.

Before we go on – let me explain a little bit about what the Vulkano does. The main function of the Vulkano is to stream video. It can do this from your cable box, satellite box or other video source over the Internet. This means you can be sitting in a hotel in Tokyo, connect to your home network using the Vulkano software, and watch TV just like you would at home. The box uses a remote control “blaster” to mimic your own remote, which means you can use the included software to change channels and anything else you’d do with your physical remote.
Now, to be honest, none of this is particularly new – this basic technology is already five years old, and launched with the Slingbox in early 2005. The Vulkano can stream high quality video up to 720×480 pixels (also not that new), but it also acts as a digital video recorder (this is where the box starts to get special). The Vulkano is the evolution of the previous generation box by Monsoon Multimedia – the HAVA.

So, lets take a closer look at the Vulkano itself. The kit is very complete – a large box filled with a variety of video cables, an Ethernet cable, a remote control, a power supply, a remote blaster and a hard drive (in the Deluxe Pro version, others come with an SD card). The product starts off very well, because it comes with ALL the cables you need to use it – including an HDMI cable.

Connecting it to your current setup is rather simple – you plug it into your cable box, TiVo, satellite receiver or other video source using component or composite cables. You then connect the box to your TV using HDMI or composite.

If your TV was already connected to your video source, you’ll either use the Vulkano as a “pass-through” device, or rely completely on the Vulkano to deliver the new signal. You then hook it up to your network (wired) or simply turn it on and use its built in WiFi.

The setup procedure is easy and menu driven. Using the included remote, you tell the box about your zip code and TV provider (for the electronic program guide), you then provide a user name and password, and pick a remote code.

This is where I ran into a minor bug – the remote code for my TiVo was not showing up, so I finalized the programming on my desktop computer. I’ll just assume that this is a bug that’ll be fixed in an upcoming release.

Once configured, I was immediately able to watch TV on my desktop computer. From unboxing to streaming, I was up and running in about 10 minutes. Next up was a test on my phone.


Edit: I’ve uploaded a short HD video clip showing playback over 3G on my phone.

As I mentioned earlier, streaming video like this is nothing new, I’ve been doing it for five years. Using the app on my phone (Google Nexus One) is where I started to realize the potential of the Vulkano – the quality is astounding. I’ve now watched about an hour of video on my phone, using WiFi and 3G, and in most cases, I can barely tell this is streaming. The quality is on par with locally stored video content.

In the mobile app, you can watch live TV, check out the TV guide, view recordings and change settings. The guide is as impressive as video streaming – you can browse the guide by name or channel number, and search for shows.

Once you’ve found a show you like – you can watch it live, or schedule it to record. This recording is made on the Vulkano, so you do not need a separate DVR to store the show. Shows are recorded to an SD memory card or USB/eSATA hard drive.

I’ve only been using the box for a day, so I have not had enough time to make any recordings. In a second review, I’ll show off the DVR features as well as the on-TV features of the Vulkano.

Final thoughts in this quick-look

As I said – the basic foundations of this box are not new. What is new is how well is works. Yes – there are a few minor glitches in the configuration, but the mobile client really is astounding and hasn’t failed once. Best of all, the desktop and mobile players are free. Players are available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Blackberry, Android, PC and Mac. A Symbian client is coming soon.

Streaming to another PC also works very well and the quality is the best I’ve ever seen from any TV streamer / placeshifter, including the top of the line Sling product.

In the Vulkano PC Player, you can also access the program guide, view recordings and schedule recordings. One handy feature brought over from the previous generation is a local recording option, which means you can store live TV on your computer. This is perfect if you are watching TV in a hotel room and need to head downstairs for a sandwich – simply return to your computer, and watch the buffered and locally stored content.

The price of the Vulkano is reasonable – $279.99 with 16GB internal storage or $379.99 with a 1TB external drive. The top of the line streamer from the competition retails for $299.99 ($261 from Amazon), but lacks the DVR function, internal storage and requires a $29.99 investment for each mobile player. The Vulkano also works as a DVR for when you are at home, and it can play YouTube clips (whether this is a selling point depends on how much you like YouTube.) To top it all off, the Vulkano also supports music, photo and video files for local and remote viewing, with a decent format support.

Both products are now shipping, and can be ordered from Myvulkano.com or Amazon.com.

As promised, next week I’ll give you a closer look at the local viewing feature, a video clip of the mobile player and a review of the DVR features.

Monsoon Multimedia Vulkano placeshifting/streamer now available

Right on target (give or take a few days), the Monsoon Multimedia Vulkano placeshifting/streaming box is available to the general public. As a quick reminder – this all-in-one box lets you remotely stream live or recorded TV anywhere in the world and even allows for downloads of recorded content to your portable computer or smartphone.

The box comes in a variety of “flavors”, with different versions offering various levels of local storage for video content. With the box, you’ll be able to travel the world, and still keep up to date with the latest in your favorite reality TV show. When you find yourself at home, you’ll be able to use the box as a DVR, media player or online video box. When traveling, you can also schedule recordings. Best of all, other than the investment in the box itself, there are no other costs involved.

We hope to have a full review of the Vulkano next week, but if you can’t wait for our opinion, head on over to the Vulkano site or Amazon.com where you’ll be able to place your order. Prices start at $259 for the basic 8Gb Vulkano up to $379 for the Vulkano Deluxe with a 1TB hard drive.

Vulkano by Monsoon Multimedia promises the ultimate in on-the-go TV and video

In two weeks, Monsoon Multimedia will begin shipping their Vulkano multimedia streaming device. Described as the world’s first “all in one video product”, the Vulkano will let you record live TV and watch recordings at home or anywhere in the world on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod or iPad, Blackberry or Android device.

Vulkano even lets you watch live TV on the go, and playback local video files off its internal storage or an external hard drive. To make a great list of specifications even better, you can also transfer recordings from the Vulkano to your device, no matter where you are. On your laptop, desktop or mobile device, you also get access to an electronic program guide, which means you can schedule TV recordings anywhere you are.

All in all, this product really does seem perfect for some entertainment on the road – it means you can arrive at the airport, and wirelessly download recordings from home to your mobile device, giving you something to watch on your flight. Once you get back home, you can use the Vulkano to watch recordings and Internet content from YouTube and other providers.

The Vulkano is available for pre-orders today, and shipments are scheduled to take place starting August 10th. The “basic” Vulkano comes with 16GB of storage, and the “professional version” comes with an external 1Tb drive. Prices start at $279.99. You can learn more about the Vulkano at its product page, where you’ll also find pre-order links.

We’ll have a full review of the Vulkano as soon as we can get our hands on one!